Loubie is a Middle Eastern dish I’ve often enjoyed in restaurants.  A little experimenting at home showed me that it’s quite easy to make using canned vegetables!

To make 4 main-dish servings, you will need:

• about 30 oz. canned green beans (or 2 cups fresh, or thawed frozen)
• about 30 oz. canned diced tomatoes (or 2 cups fresh, or thawed frozen)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 5 large cloves garlic, or more smaller cloves
• 2 Tbsp. garam masala (This is an Indian spice blend.  If you don’t have it, try 1 tsp. each of black pepper, cinnamon, cumin, and coriander, and then adjust seasoning to taste.)

Peel the garlic and cut the cloves in half, or into a few chunks if they’re large cloves.

Saute garlic in olive oil for a few minutes.  Meanwhile, open the cans.  Drain the green beans, but keep the juice in the tomatoes.

Stir garam masala into oil.  Add vegetables.  Simmer, stirring occasionally, at least 15 minutes or until juice thickens.

Serve over rice or couscous.

Check out What’s on the Menu Wednesday for more recipes!